


Is This a Kind of Magic?

by a_scholar



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), Sauli Koskinen RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Magical Realism, Metafiction, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-10 22:58:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12922011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_scholar/pseuds/a_scholar
Summary: The day before Christmas Eve, a huge crush on a VIP customer, and a snowmobile ride through snowy Lapland. Things really start spiraling out of control for Sauli.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Someone needs to take away my laptop. I can't stop writing even when I've decided not to do it.
> 
> This really works better if you're familiar with my writing. (Like seriously, better not read this before reading at least some of the others.)
> 
> Inspiration credits at the end!

~ 0. ~

Christmas songs are playing on the radio. It's the day before Christmas Eve, after all. Sauli is trying to dance to the songs while doing his chores. Trying being the key word, because his mood isn't great, but dammit if he isn't doing his best not to wallow in regret. He's moving fast, untangling a pile of dog harnesses one by one and rushing to put them back on the hooks on the wall where they belong, swinging his hips as he moves.

They've just finished a two-hour husky ride with a small group of VIP guests, and it's his duty to do the cleanup. He's taken off his winter boots and it's easy to slide across the floor in his knit socks. Some of the hooks are too high for him, so he has to jump repeatedly to try to get the harnesses there, feeling the hem of his black wool sweater ride up.

There, that was the last one. When he turns around, the sight at the doorway makes him stop in his tracks. There's a tall man standing there, looking startled when Sauli spots him.

Oh. He came back.

”Sorry. Sauli, right?”

Adam Lambert. The very man Sauli has just been thinking about, anguishing over the fact that the entire two-hour trip had felt like a missed opportunity. He would have wanted nothing more than to—to do something, anything, to talk to Adam more freely than he had been able to as a guide. To ask if Adam was going to hit the local bars of the nearby ski resort afterwards, or even to be as bold as to give him his number. But he couldn't do any of that. His employer has instilled in them all too well what the limits or propriety are regarding their guests. Especially VIPs.

”Yeah. Did you miss your taxi?” His heart is beating fast, getting stupidly ecstatic that it hadn't been the last time he ever saw Adam when he had said goodbye a short while earlier, leaving Adam and his friends to catch their ride back to the hotel.

”Actually, I let the others go and said I'd call another taxi,” Adam says, gripping the top of the door frame with one hand and making a sad face. ”I realised I've lost my backpack.”

”Oh, sh—ff—uhh, no.”

Adam looks baffled for a moment before bursting into laughter, his eyes squeezed almost shut and mouth wide open with its white row of teeth. It's infectious. Maybe Sauli should jumble his words again to keep Adam laughing.

”Just curse, please. I'm not your customer right now. Although I'll tip you very, _very_ nicely if you help me find my stuff,” Adam says and smiles sweetly.

”You don't have to do that. Of course I'll help you anyway.”

Adam has already tipped him generously, more so than their guests usually do. Foreigners tend to tip them even though it's completely unnecessary, but they're still allowed to accept the tips.

”I didn't see anything in the sleighs,” he says, remembering that Adam's backpack had been black. ”Do you think you've dropped it?”

”I'm afraid I probably left it at that place where we stopped. I don't remember putting it back on when we left.”

They had stopped at the regular spot where they always take a break on two-hour trips, giving the guests a rest. It's a nice spot next to a small lake. There's a wilderness cabin there, but even in winter they always build a fire outside—or rather, one of them goes to lit the fires in advance—their guests sitting on reindeer hides to keep warm. The guides are supposed to tell stories about Lapland and explain the natural phenomena particular to winter, but Sauli is afraid that this time he'd been veering into unprofessional territory. It had been hard to stay on topic. Instead it had been so tempting to talk about more normal things with Adam and not go through the usual script. To answer his flirting. Surely it must have been flirting? He'd very much wondered if Adam's gaydar was working. From the start he'd fought against a weird impulse to just blurt out that he's gay, to ensure Adam knows that and doesn't think he's only being friendly to a customer.

He'd been so captivated by Adam's presence that he had fumbled with things all night, to the extent that his two fellow guides had needed to remind him what to do next. When he had been pouring _glögi_ , or mulled wine, into cups, the awareness of Adam's eyes on him had caused him to spill the hot beverage on his fingers. So embarrassing that he'd been so affected by the twinkle in Adam's eye, that grin.

”Well, that's good then,” he says, giving himself a mental shake. ”At least we know where it is. If you wait here I'll just take a snowmobile and drive down there.”

”I'll come with you. If that's okay?”

That was unexpected. His cheeks feel warm.

He looks at Adam from head to toe. A black beanie, dark hair peeking from underneath it. A black scarf with something sparkly in it, a pine green jacket that's sort of a puffy jacket but really doesn't look warm enough. Jeans and boots. He's pretty sure Adam isn't wearing any long thermal underwear under the jeans, which is insanity. What Adam is wearing is good enough for something like a London winter, but a totally impractical attire for winter in Lapland, of course, even though the temperature could be much colder than the current nice crisp -15 Celsius, or 5 Fahrenheit as they had told their American guests.

”I guess it's okay, but you'll have to wear the coveralls again.”

He points at a rack that's holding the black insulated coveralls they always give to tourists who come ill prepared.

”Sure.”

Adam takes one of them, removes his boots and starts pulling the coveralls over his own clothing. Meanwhile Sauli puts his own warm winter jacket back on.

He has a nagging feeling that his employer would not agree to taking a VIP guest on an unplanned snowmobile ride like this. But he can't let the opportunity to pass again. Not when Adam is wanting to come with. Surely it's not a big deal if they take a quick ride there and back?

”Someone is coming here later to feed the dogs, but I'll leave a note for them just in case they come while we're still gone.” He writes it quickly and leaves it on the table.

Helmets for both of them, and they're ready to go.

After taking a snowmobile from the storage he drives it onto the yard, the noise making huskies bark wildly in their cages.

”Hop on!” he yells. ”There are handles on the seat, you can hold onto them or me!”

He waits for Adam to get on and settle behind him, Adam's knees pressed lightly against Sauli's hips.

”Tap my shoulder if you want me to stop!” he shouts and takes off slowly after Adam nods.

Soon the bark of the dogs disappears and it's just the two of them in a snow-covered world. The lights of the snowmobile illuminate the old tracks he's driving along. It's a familiar route to him, even though he's still pretty new at this job.

It's not actually dark at all that night, even though the polar night is upon them, when the sun stays below the horizon even during the day. The snow illuminates everything, there's a full moon, and they have been lucky with northern lights. That's not always the case, and it's such a pain to explain to guests why none can be seen if it's snowing, even though they have travelled all the way from across the world to see them. Tonight the whole sky is swathed in vibrant colours of green and purple. It's actually the most glorious light show Sauli has seen during his stay in Lapland. To be honest it almost seems like there's something unusual going on with the lights. They're moving faster than he's ever seen, even more so than earlier during the husky ride.

He drives slower than he usually would, both to make it easier for Adam, who can't predict the jumps and turns as well as Sauli, and to enjoy the ride longer. After the first bigger bump arms wrap around his waist, holding tight, and Adam presses closer.

It's totally fine that the man he's crushing so heavily on is pressed tightly against his back, even through their thick clothing. He slows down the speed to see if Adam loosens his hold. Not that he wants Adam to stop, but he doesn't want Adam to be uncomfortable or nervous riding the snowmobile. But Adam doesn't let go of him, so he presses the accelerator lightly.

Even though the noise of the engine makes everything a bit less idyllic, it's still just the two of them and the peaceful, still world. The snow is sparkling in the cold. Tree branches are covered in such dense, tightly packed snow that it has turned them into weird shapes looking like they've just been sprayed with whipped cream. He could do this forever, ride through the shimmering snow in the forest, Adam's body so intimately pressed against his, warming him, moving with him when he shifts his bodyweight to the inner curve as they turn.

Eventually he sees it, a small frozen lake and a cabin on the shore. Adam's backpack must be somewhere in there. He could either drive across the lake or go around it, taking the usual land route that would take them over a bridge that crosses a stream flowing from the lake. Making a decision that turns out to be the most idiotic of his life, he takes neither of those routes, but decides to keep driving along the shore, which forces them to cross the mouth of the frozen river.

Being still so new to Lapland, he couldn't even imagine that after such cold temperatures there could still be places where the ice isn't thick enough yet. But spots like unevenly frozen streams can be treacherous.

They're driving across the river ice, slowly when he notices how many cracks and ridges there are. Then a nightmarish, deep cracking sound can be heard over the noise of the engine. At first the snowmobile sinks just a little, and instinctively Sauli presses the accelerator on full throttle. He feels Adam grab him even harder. The shore is just there. But no matter what he does, the ice breaks completely under the snowmobile, the rear end starting to sink.

He turns to look at Adam, meeting panic-filled eyes behind the visor of the helmet.

”Jump! Get off!” he shouts and points at the shore.

Thankfully Adam releases him and starts scrambling off. It feels like everything is happening in slow motion.

Because he's at the front, or because he's smaller and nimbler, he manages to jump and roll on top of ice that holds under him. But Adam can't manage the same, and as he turns to look, Adam is up to his chest in freezing water, gripping the edge of the ice. He crawls to Adam fast and grabs his arms. It's possible the water isn't very deep here so close to the shore, but he's not going to risk it, there's no way he's letting go. Every year people die exactly like this, driving their snowmobiles into thin ice.

”Come on! I've got you!”

Adam tries to heave his upper body on top of the ice, but the drenched clothing must be weighing him down. Not to mention the coldness, which is such a shock to the system that Sauli sees Adam is struggling to draw air into his lungs.

He yells for Adam to try again, and this time Adam manages it, Sauli helping by pulling. Adam crawls forward until he's fully on top of the ice, lying there in his soaked clothes.

Their snowmobile has entirely disappeared into a large hole in the ice. There's only black water there.

Sauli takes off his own helmet and then pulls Adam's off, too. The beanie comes off with the helmet and he puts it back on Adam's head, realising with horror that it's the only piece of dry clothing Adam is wearing.

It's the most terrifying situation of his life. He's never been filled with utter panic like this, but at the same time he's experiencing a strange sort of calmness. It's a complete nightmare, though. Someone whose safety is incredibly important is in danger. He knows his next moves are vital. Frost is starting to appear on Adam's clothes.

”Fuck, Sauli...” Adam manages in a weak voice and looks up at him, face in agony.

”Okay, up. Get up, right now,” he says standing up himself and trying to drag Adam with him.

With huge effort Adam gets up, but as they walk towards the shore with Sauli's arm around Adam, the ice breaks under their feet again. The water is shallow, but when Sauli's feet plunge in up to his knees, freezing water seeping into his shoes, he gets a sense of what it must have been like for Adam. It's so cold that a terrible sharp pain spreads in his legs, and he can't help but gasp and curse.

He steers Adam towards the cabin, the walk there not that long but feeling way too long in these circumstances, trudging through deep snow, every step painful.

Once inside he takes a flashlight from his pocket and puts it on a table next to a small window so that it points to the room.

There are bunk beds on both sides of the room, a wood burning stove in the corner.

”You're going to be okay,” he says to Adam.

”F-f-ffuck.” Adam's teeth are chattering so hard he can hear it.

He kneels down in front of the stove and faster than ever throws a few logs inside, then grabs a packet of matches on top of the stove.

”Take your clothes off,” he says while striking a match, thankful that for once the logs seem to catch fire easily.

”S-should we try to call for help?”

”There's no range. I'll check in a minute, but there never has been here. I'm sure someone will see my note and they'll come looking for us soon. Your friends will start worrying too, right?”

”Maybe at some point,” Adam says while trying to grab hold of the zipper of his coveralls. He's shaking like a leaf, poor man. ”We were supposed to go partying, though, so who knows when they'll remember I haven't caught up with them.”

”I'm sure there's going to be like a massive rescue party soon enough,” he says in order to reassure both of them. ”Something dramatic, helicopters and everything. They'll know our route from my note.”

The fire is starting to crackle and illuminate the room with an orange glow. With numb fingers Sauli takes off his own wet boots and trousers. His dry jacket he spreads on the floor in front of the fire, then takes off his sweater and spreads it there, too. There's a pile of blankets on one of the bunk beds. Disappointingly only three of them, and not as large or thick as he would hope. He spreads one of them on the floor, making a nest out of the blanket and his dry clothes.

A wet thud makes him look at Adam. It was the sound of the soaked coveralls dropping down to Adam's ankles. He's doing a poor job of undressing, now fumbling with the zipper of his jacket.

”I can't feel my legs,” Adam says.

Sauli goes to help him with the zipper, opening it and taking off Adam's jacket. Even the sweater underneath is soaked through.

”Take your shirt off,” he says and drops down to his knees.

Refusing to think about anything at all, he pops open the button of Adam's jeans and pulls down the zipper.

”I'm not b-blaming you yet, but if my balls have frozen off...” Adam says with his voice muffled while he's dragging his shirt over his head.

”I'm more worried about your toes than your junk,” Sauli says with his face right there in front of said junk. ”It's your toes and fingers that your body thinks it can survive without if need be.”

”Fuck, I hope so. My body is going to be in so much trouble if it thinks my junk can be the first to go.”

Could they please stop talking about Adam's genitals? Especially while Adam is about to freeze to death?

He drags the soaked jeans down while Adam is standing there. The skin beneath is cold and clammy.

”These have to come off, too,” he says and hooks his fingers under the waistband of wet briefs, turning his gaze to Adam's feet before dragging them down.

”This is the unsexiest way any m-man has ever taken off my clothes.”

He takes off Adam's boots, Adam lifting his legs so Sauli can pull them off, as well as the clothes around his ankles. Wet socks, too.

”You didn't have extra clothes in your backpack, did you? Should I go get it?” The idea of putting wet boots back on doesn't thrill him, but he'll do it if he has to.

”No, no clothes. Nothing useful.”

”Okay. Lie down,” he says, trying not to look at the naked man directly.

Once Adam is lying in front of the fire Sauli covers his shaking form with two thin blankets. Then he adds wood to the stove and with his back to Adam takes off his long-sleeved thermal shirt and trousers, leaving the underwear on.

”We don't usually get this intimate with our customers,” he says with his voice shaky from nervousness. ”But unfortunately I need to get under those blankets with you and warm you up, so I hope you can deal.”

”Get the fuck in here already, if that makes me warmer.”

He lifts the blankets and gets in. Before lying down he takes his wool scarf and wraps it around both their ice-cold feet.

”This is some strange bondage,” Adam mumbles.

”Do you ever shut up?” Sauli laughs. He then grabs every other dry clothing there is and adds it on top of their blankets to give extra warmth before settling down with his back to Adam.

He bites his lip to hold back a whimper as he's wrapped in a cold embrace. The sensation of Adam's cold skin against his makes him gasp.

”Sorry,” he says, not sure if he's apologising for the near-death experience or the forced intimacy, but Adam seems to take it as the latter.

”Are you kidding me, you're so warm. I'm sorry for being an icicle.”

The man is apologising after Sauli almost got him drowned.

”You can sue me if you want,” he says. ”I'm probably going to get fired.”

Adam's hands are cold against his chest. He has an urge to take the fingers into his mouth, or to put them in his armpits to make them warm, but that would be too much.

”Pfft. I'm not suing anybody. I'm in a cabin in Lapland, lying in front of a fire, with a beautiful man in my arms. What's not to like?” The way they're spooning, and Adam so tall, Adam is pretty much speaking into his hair.

”How about the fact that I almost got you drowned, then you nearly froze to death, you're still shivering, and we're lying on a hard floor?” Adam's last words make him glow, but he doesn't comment on them.

”Irrelevant details, I would say.”

They lie there wrapped in each other. The fire is starting to feel hot on his face. Every now and then Adam's body is wrecked by a strong shiver, but less and less. The air inside the blankets is warm now. The hum of the fire burning inside the stove is loud, the metal hatch rattling from the force of the fire.

”How are your toes?” Sauli asks.

He can feel Adam move them around.

”Alive.”

”What about those balls?” _Why?_ Why did he ask that? What is wrong with him?

”Warm.”

Great, now he's thinking about Adam's warm balls right there, probably almost touching his skin.

He clears his throat.

”Tell me how you've ended up at this job,” Adam says.

So he does, relieved to talk about something. He tells Adam all about living in Helsinki, first visiting Lapland and experiencing a husky ride himself, then being recommended working there for a season. He loves dogs and likes his co-workers, he meets a lot of people from all over the world, and it's wonderful to be outdoors, but it's also good to know that it's a seasonal job and there's an end in sight, the return to Helsinki.

Adam then tells Sauli how he's ended up taking a holiday in Lapland himself after finishing touring, even though neither him nor his friends are particularly fond of cold.

At one point Sauli realises that while they're talking, he's playing with Adam's fingers. Pressing their fingertips together, touching the black fingernails, trailing his fingers over Adam's knuckles. It's a stupid habit of his, always having to fiddle with something, and now he's claimed Adam's hand for that purpose.

The sound of a log breaking in two startles him. It's time to add more wood. He gets out from under the blankets, Adam's arm sliding across his skin as he goes. It's not so cold outside the blankets anymore, the stove producing so much warmth. He kneels in front of it in his underwear and opens the hatch carefully, throwing logs in.

When he turns around and crawls back on his hands and knees, his eyes meet Adam's. It's a physical sensation, hot and heavy, travelling down.

Adam lifts the edge of the blanket and he gets in, glancing at the naked chest before turning his back to to Adam again.

He's pulled back against Adam's body, now warm. A sound threatens to leave his throat again, this time for a different reason.

”Do we have enough wood?” Adam asks, voice low.

”Yeah. There's so much we'll probably starve before freezing to death.”

”Mm-hm.”

Adam's arm is wrapped around his waist, fingers against his stomach. Sauli starts stroking those fingers again, slowly, pressing them against his skin. _What are they doing?_ He closes his eyes and enjoys the electric feeling in his body.

A sound does escape him when Adam spreads his fingers wide and slides them across his stomach. That in turn makes Adam tighten his hold and press closer.

”Fuck, fuck...” he mumbles against his own arm, eyes squeezed shut.

”Are you single?” Adam asks out of the blue.

”Y—yeah.”

”Into men?”

He swallows. ”Only men.”

When he feels breath against his face, he turns his head and finds Adam's mouth.

Oh, God. It's soft lips slotted between his, a slick tongue dipping into his mouth before retreating. He grabs Adam's face, fingers stroking the beard, and kisses back hungrily.

Such intense lust hits him. He groans, almost biting Adam's lips.

A thigh slides over his hips and then he's covered by naked Adam, pressed together.

Adam is moaning in between wet kisses and grabbing him everywhere.

”Oh my God.” He feels a hard length rub teasingly against his own through the material of his briefs. ”Fuck, please,” he says, one hand squeezing Adam's ass.

Pleasure is coming in strong pulses, one after the other, and he's almost afraid he's going to come any second.

It's just all so hectic, how they're almost wanting to eat each other up, needing to touch all over.

Then Adam breaks the kiss, looking at him and panting slightly. Those eyes are so intense, and dark now in the dim light of the crackling fire.

”God, you're so hot,” Adam whispers. ”What is it about you?”

He doesn't have an answer to that.

Adam sits up, the blankets falling away with him, and in a quick move drags down Sauli's underwear, his cock springing free and jutting up. Adam swallows it down.

He moans loudly and scrabbles hold of the wooden floor at the feel of warm, tight suction, Adam's tongue on his cock. He tries not to come immediately. But Adam seems so hungry and determined, making little noises while he sucks, that he can't help it and lets Adam suck the orgasm out of him, while he moans with every outward breath, his lower body shaking.

Sitting up, pulling and pushing Adam to lie where he was lying just now, he takes Adam's huge fucking cock in his hand and directs it into his mouth with a faint moan. It's partly the after-effect of his own orgasm still wrecking his body that makes him crave this so much that he almost feels like he's drooling. The kind of desire that in the light of day can occasionally feel distant, making him wonder _did I really want that so much?_ but which he right now feels with such intensity that there's nothing better than having the thick length in his mouth, the slightly salty and musky taste of sex, feeling how everything he does makes Adam react. Knowing that it's Adam he's pleasuring.

He feels when Adam is close, and not wanting to prolong it takes pity and sucks the head hard while stroking the length, taking it all when Adam moans and gives him his come.

He climbs on top of Adam and pulls the blankets haphazardly over them.

After cuddling and catching their breath they start kissing again. It starts as slow and soft kisses, but brushing his tongue against Adam's makes a lick of heat twist in his stomach. He's moving his body restlessly, rubbing it against Adam's, whose hands are glued to his ass. Now everything is so hot and sweaty that it's hard to belive they were freezing some time ago.

Desire grips them again, maybe aided by the thrill of being alive and warm.

”I want you again,” he says against Adam's damp neck, rolling his hips.

”Oh, _fuck._ I want you again, too, and I'm going to want you again after that. And again and again.”

Suddenly Adam flips him around so that Sauli is lying on his back. Adam kneels between his legs, stroking his spread thighs and grinning slowly. It's impossible not to answer that grin. Fingers grab his cock, pulling up, then trailing down and cupping his balls, sliding down to press underneath them in a way that makes him gasp uncontrollably, then sliding lower to touch his hole.

They end up in another position, with Sauli on all fours with his legs pressed together, Adam behind him, fucking into the gap between Sauli's legs.

”I really want you inside.” He groans, the feel of Adam's wet cock brushing between his legs, close but not there, driving him crazy.

Adam moans. ”I want to fuck you so bad, but we're not equipped.”

He knows that, but he just had to say it.

”If we get out of here,” Adam says panting, grabbing his hips tighter, ”And you still want me, I swear I'll give it to you so good.”

The promise produces images in his mind that make him desperate. After Adam has first come all over his thighs, he moans non-stop as his cock is taken in a tight grip and he's milked dry, with a finger slipped inside.

”Adam,” he says tiredly when he's lying against Adam like a corpse, looking up at the ceiling and feeling like he's been wrung out like a wet rag, but lovingly.

”Sauli.”

”That was the hottest sex I've had. I'm glad I nearly killed you.”

Adam is giggling. It's so cute.

He falls asleep.

~ 1. ~

He wakes up in a bed. _Thank God._ Immediately his only worry is what sort of state their rescuers found them in, considering their activities before he fell asleep. But then again, who cares? People have sex all the time. Hopefully they made someone laugh.

After rubbing his eyes and looking around properly, he realises he's actually in bed with Adam, who's asleep. They must have been taken to a hotel and placed in the same room by Adam's request. Which is pretty nice. Except that this doesn't really look like a hotel room that much. And looking outside, there's—palm trees.

He squints, thinking maybe the windows are just a poster, but no. Those are definitely palm trees, and sunlight. No snow in sight.

Something moves at the foot of the bed. That's a dog. It rolls over onto its back and lets out a deep sigh, one hind leg sticking up in the air.

He just sits there and looks. For quite some time. Adam's breathing sounds strained, his nose obviously clogged. No wonder he's getting sick after the cold experience.

It feels like his brain isn't working properly, but so far the best explanation he can come up with is that he's somehow lost his memory over the past maybe 24 hours, and he's somehow agreed to travel to LA with Adam after their catastrophic snowmobile excursion. Maybe Sauli is even trying to avoid his furious employer after first taking a customer on a trip without permission, destroying company equipment, nearly killing the said customer, and then definitely crossing the limits of propriety? The other explanations are that they've been kidnapped, or that this is some kind of a practical joke on him, maybe even some kind of a hidden camera show.

Adam makes a croaking sound, waking up. He turns to Sauli, looking miserable and pointing at his throat. It must be really bad.

There's a jar of honey and a bottle of water on Adam's bedside table, so he gets up and goes to sit beside Adam. He takes out some honey with a spoon, seeing that there are letters on his hand. O O F T A. Why would someone write something on his hand, and a word he's not even sure means anything? It could also be a temporary tattoo. He gives the spoon to Adam, watching as Adam swallows, the honey hopefully lubricating his throat. After filling a glass with water he hands it to Adam as well.

”Thanks, baby.”

His heart skips a beat.

”Fuck, that hurts,” Adam adds in a whisper.

He's waiting for Adam's turn to freak out. It doesn't happen. Adam just reaches for a tissue to blow his nose, and then looks sleepily at him. It looks like the same word has been written on Adam's hand. Adam's hair looks lighter than before, but maybe he hadn't seen it properly because of the beanie, and then it had been pretty dark inside the cabin.

He's waiting for an explanation, since Adam sees no reason to freak out.

”Just a few more minutes,” Adam says quietly, eyes closing, and then he's out.

Well, err. Should he wake Adam up? Instead he turns his attention to the small brown dog and pets it. The dog wags his tail and seems to enjoy the belly rubs.

So this really looks like a house, not a hotel. It's confirmed when he opens the door and peeks outside. After one last look at Adam he steps out and starts inspecting the house. The dog runs past him and heads downstairs, so he follows to see it standing in front of a glass door. He opens it, hoping it's the right thing to do. The dog trots off towards a grassy area. There seem to be walls around the property, so hopefully there's no possible way to escape. He leaves the door ajar.

The house looks insanely expensive. It clearly looks like it belongs to Adam, except there are things there that seem to indicate two people inhabit it, and as far as he knows Adam is single. Eventually he finds pictures. Of them. Him and Adam.

He considers the possibilities that he's either gone insane, or that his amnesia runs deeper than for the 24 hours and is actually reaching over months or years. What if they started dating after Lapland and it's been forever since that happened? As far as he can remember he's never had a panic attack before, but it's possible he's about to have one now, breathing becoming difficult and heart racing.

The dog comes back, though, and petting it makes him calm down a little.

He should call his mom. He runs back upstairs to grab a phone from his bedside table, and runs back downstairs. After dialing her he realises he doesn't know what to say.

”Is everything... okay in there?” he asks.

”Yes, of course,” his mom says. She starts explaining boring details about the things she's done during the past week.

”How's Adam?” she asks when he's starting to despair.

”Uh. He's a bit sick.”

”Oh, poor dear. Just a cold?”

”Yes, I think so.”

”Well, take good care of him. You should rub Vicks on his chest. Do they have it in America? What else... Definitely soup, and—”

”Mom, mom. I've got it.”

Calling her wasn't helpful. In the kitchen he discovers three varieties of soup laid out on the counter. It seems like he's already went to buy some.

He returns upstairs, catching his reflection in a mirror on the way. Nope, he looks exactly the same as usual. Blond hair all messed up from sleeping, a rough stubble on his face. He's not sure if his eyes should look different if he was going insane, but he can't see any difference.

Adam was either already waking up, or Sauli sitting next to him makes him wake up.

He looks at the poor man, who is after all still almost a stranger to him. Hair sticking up, eyes a bit red.

”Can I get you anything? Tea, soup?”

”Both,” Adam says in a small voice and reaches out to take his hand. ”Chicken noodle.”

So he goes to make tea and heat up some soup. The dog is at his feet and he gives it some dog food.

Adam sits up to eat.

”I was just thinking,” Sauli says. ”About the time we met.”

”Yeah?”

He tries a careful approach, to dig out some information that would give him a hint of what the hell is going on.

”Tell me again, what you were thinking when you first saw me?”

Adam laughs a little. ”I was just mesmerised, you know that,” he says in between spoonfuls. ”God, you looked so hot. Your smile made my insides turn to _mush_. I knew I wanted to come to you, but I was nervous you had like a boyfriend somewhere in the bar, or you just wouldn't be interested. I'm glad I didn't chicken out.”

This is unreal.

”Are you okay?” Adam asks, putting his bowl away. ”You look like you're somewhere else. Are you getting sick, too?”

”No, I'm—I'm just worried about you.”

”Aww, baby. Take a nap with me. I'm sure I'll get better if you cuddle me.”

Not knowing what else to do, he ends up spooning Adam.

”You sure you're okay?” Adam asks sleepily.

”I don't know, maybe I have amnesia.”

”Oh, God, not again,” Adam mumbles, obviously starting to fall asleep.

What the fuck? What the _fuck?_ He squeezes Adam as hard as he dares and closes his own eyes, lying awake for a while before falling asleep, too.

~ 2. ~

An odd cawing sound wakes him up. The sight that greets him is an open window, curtains blowing slightly, and a large colourful bird sitting there at the window before flying away. The window is actually just a hole in the wall, covered by the curtains.

He lifts his head. He's in a luxurious room clearly made to look Egyptian. Whatever strange nightmare he's having doesn't seem to be over.

A door opens and someone comes in. Adam, clearly Adam, even though his hair is definitely different colour, either dyed to a lighter reddish brown or this time his natural colour. Adam is dressed in an Egyptian way, with a white cloth over his hips, a wide belt, and an elaborate necklace. No shirt. His eyes are heavily lined with black eyeliner, making him look really, really striking.

Adam smiles and says something.

He doesn't understand. It sounds like gibberish.

Adam lies down on the bed with him, propping his head up with his arm.

Sauli's face must look weird. Adam tries again, frowning.

”I'm sorry, I don't understand.”

Adam's eyes widen. He speaks again in the strange language, but Sauli can't do anything but look at him helplessly and spread his hands. Looking alarmed, Adam comes close and grabs his face.

He looks so worried, stroking Sauli's face as if trying to find out what's wrong with him. This is scary for him, too, not knowing where he is and being unable to communicate with Adam, who seems to be the only familiar thing in this hallucinatory experience, or whatever this is.

Suddenly he hears his own name in the midst of the strange words, and somehow that makes tears well up in his eyes.

Adam looks completely anguished and kisses his cheeks, then his lips. It feels so nice that Sauli stops Adam before he can pull away and kisses back softly.

”Don't worry,” he whispers. ”Calm down.” He tries calming Adam down in Finnish, too, and to his surprise Adam reacts to it, looking at him more intently but still without understanding.

Adam makes a motion clearly telling him to stay there before disappearing.

He's absolutely going to stay there. He doesn't want to get up and look out. An awful feeling is starting to spread. This may not be some kind of a themed hotel or a movie set. He's scared of what he'll see.

After a while Adam comes back in with two men in tow, dressed in long robes, heads shaved. After conversing in the strange tongue the men approach Sauli. He realises he's sitting on the bed naked under the covering.

Adam is nodding encouragingly, so Sauli lets them touch and prod him, and speaks random things to them after they repeat something to him that sounds like a question. Mostly the men just talk to each other and stare at him. In the end they seem to come up with no solutions and leave.

Adam looks like he's almost out of his mind with worry. It feels bad to see him like that. Sauli tries to calm him down, smiles and strokes his cheek.

After a while Adam sighs in a resigned way and gestures... Eating? Right, it does feel like he's really hungry. Adam gets up and goes to the door, but seems to realise Sauli isn't following.

He makes a helpless gesture, and Adam starts to look even more panicked before walking a few steps to a wooden chest and taking out a black garment.

Adam then grabs his arm gently and makes him stand up. His cheeks flame when the sheet drops. Not too long ago he was rolling around naked with Adam, in front of a fire. But this is in daylight and in a situation that isn't sexual. Weirdly he feels both vulnerable and secure at the same time. Also he is starting to admit to himself that somehow, impossible as it seems, this is a different Adam.

A sleeveless short tunic is slipped over his head. Adam ties a golden rope around his waist, and then kneels down to put sandals on Sauli's feet, sort of like those he's seen in movies.

It seems to be dawning on Adam that not only has Sauli lost the language he's clearly been able to speak until now, but that he also has no idea about anything that's going on. No idea how to function in this environment. Well, the only thing he grasps is that him and this Adam must have some kind of an intimate relationship.

They leave the room, walking along a corridor until it opens to a huge balcony. The view makes him dizzy, and he grabs Adam's hand. He has to close his eyes briefly before opening them again. There's a river some distance away, and a city that spreads on both shores. Stone monuments, boats on the river, green fields with tiny people moving on them, and so far away that they look a bit hazy, small triangular shapes. It looks like something you would imagine if someone told you to picture ancient Egypt, but ten times more colourful, more vibrant, full of life. He pinches himself hard and it hurts.

This is all real. He's in Egypt, and not in present time. There's no other explanation. If he's not dreaming or hallucinating, the only thing he can think of is that this is a different universe where he's accidentally ended up in. Just like the L.A. one.

If the same thing happens again, next time he wakes up he could be in an entirely new universe, or back in his own one. Has he somehow temporarily replaced the Sauli in this world? Oh, fuck. Hopefully that other Sauli will just wake up without any memory of this, and he hasn't somehow sent that other one into his own universe. Who knows what kind of chaos Sauli from ancient Egypt could wreck in modern day Lapland?

He stares and stares, heart pounding, trying to understand how extraordinary this is and trying not to completely lose his shit. Stupidly his hand moves as if wanting to take out his phone and film everything.

On the balcony there's a raised platform with a canopy giving it some shade. There are cushions and a low table, full of small plates filled with different kinds of food.

They eat, Sauli following Adam's example and eating with his hands. He opens his mouth when Adam feeds him some fruit and pieces of bread. It makes him feel all warm and heavy. This Adam is sizzling hot. Those seductive eyes and all that naked skin. For the first time he fully realises how freckled Adam is. There are tattoos on this Adam as well, but they look a bit different from the ones in his own world.

After they're finished Adam starts leading him away, grabbing a shirt that's folded on a chair and putting it on. As soon as they step into another corridor there are people there, who drop down on their knees. Some of them are not wearing much clothing. Servants? And some are clearly soldiers, armed.

As they walk, Sauli following behind Adam, he sees more and more people, each and every one of them reacting to Adam. It's starting to look like Adam is a very important person. They stop in front of huge doors, and someone places a blue and gold cloth on Adam's head, secured in place by a headband. They enter a huge hall, and as he realises they're heading towards a grand looking chair with a few smaller seats behind it, his knees almost buckle.

Adam is the fucking Pharaoh. Has to be.

He follows close on Adam's heels, and when Adam points at a chair behind the larger one, he takes a seat. Then Adam puts a finger on his lips.

Yes. He gets it. Sauli is not going to utter a fucking word. He's just trying to sit on this chair without fainting.

Soon two women come in, and as they pass Sauli to take a seat, they say something to him. Thankfully the sick Adam in LA is still fresh in his mind, and he points at his throat, trying to look like he's in pain. They pout their lips at him, looking sad, and give him a pat.

One person after another comes to Adam and speaks at length. It feels like it takes forever. Afterwards Adam discusses with the women, and he hears his name. They leave the hall, returning all the way to the room he woke up in.

Everything is starting to feel like it's just too much to handle. When Adam looks at him, looking like he's almost in tears, Sauli tries to gesture sleeping. If he just falls asleep, he will wake up somewhere else, right? Hopefully someplace more normal than this. And Pharaoh Adam will get his own Sauli back, the one who knows how to function here.

Adam seems to understand, but then leaves him again. He takes off his sandals and sits down on the bed. Soon Adam comes back, though, and hands him a small vial.

It could be some kind of a sleeping draught. It could also be poison, but he doubts Adam would hurt him. He drinks the bitter-tasting liquid inside. Adam motions that he should take off his tunic, so he does, and gets under the sheets.

Before joining him Adam takes a cup from a table. The cup is placed on his lips, and he tastes wine.

A few drops of wine are dribbled on his chest, and then Adam's warm tongue licks them away.

”Oh.” He sinks his fingers into Adam's hair.

Adam glances at him and dribbles more wine on Sauli's chest, licking it deliberately slowly.

Adam really is so magnificently hot, and he's not sure if he should be thinking that about this particular Adam. His limbs are starting to feel heavy, but he knows that if he hadn't drunk the potion, and especially if he had then drunk only wine, he would have soon found himself having sex with this Adam.

His eyes fall closed, but before sleep takes him, he hears singing. A gorgeous, gorgeous voice, singing something that makes him think of a lullaby.


	2. Chapter 2

~ 3. ~

Sauli opens his eyes. A familiar room? Yes, the one in L.A., but maybe on another day. The bed sheets are different.

Adam is sleeping next to him, facing him. Looking so soft and beautiful with his face relaxed, long lashes resting against his skin and mouth slightly open.

He thinks about booping Adam's nose.

”Good morning,” a tiny voice says next to his ear.

He freezes, hairs rising on the back of his neck. When he turns his head slowly, he sees a small blue bird on the pillow.

”Did you know that you made Adam come so hard last night that some of it flew in an arch and landed on Ramses' fur? I think he's so traumatised he'll never get over it. You humans are so disgusting. Absolutely revolting creatures.”

The bird is talking to him.

”What the _fuck?!_ ” he shouts.

Adam jerks awake next to him, and a huge black shape rises up from the floor. It makes him yell louder.

”What?! What's happening?” Adam asks.

He just stares at Adam, trembling.

”What's the matter with him?” Adam looks at the bird, who flies to the middle of the bed.

”I don't know,” the bird says, looking at Sauli and turning its head from side to side. ”I don't... I don't think that's Sauli.”

”What?” Adam and the massive black thing, which he has to admit really is a wolf, ask in unison.

”No, I am Sauli,” he says, ”but just not your Sauli. Could somebody explain how the hell there are talking animals in here?”

They all stare at him, Adam, the bird and the wolf.

”No, if you don't recognise your own dæmon, I think you should be the one explaining,” Adam says carefully.

”My own what?”

Adam looks at the animals helplessly.

”Okay,” Sauli says quickly. ”So what I think is happening is that every time I fall asleep, I somehow jump to a different universe.” When nobody says anything, he continues. ”It's happened three times now. I was with you when I fell asleep back in Finland. I woke up in LA—actually in this same house, where we were living together, and you were sick with a cold, and we had a dog—then I woke up in fucking _ancient Egypt_ where I couldn't understand anyone, and you were apparently the Pharaoh. I don't know what the hell I was, except that we were again clearly lovers. Now I woke up here. And no, there were definitely no talking animals in my universe, or the other two.”

They all stare at him.

”Yes, clearly at first I thought I was dreaming or insane, but I don't think that's the case.”

He looks as Adam pinches his own arm.

”I don't think I'm dreaming either,” Adam says. ”And I trust Aina when she says something isn't right. She should know, she's you.”

What the hell does that mean?

”Where is my Sauli then?” Adam asks, voice getting louder. ”What's happened to him?!”

”I'm sure he's alright! I think, I _think_ I've just somehow taken over and he'll be back after I fall asleep. I don't actually know for certain.”

”I'm sure he's right, Adam,” the wolf says. ”Besides, he didn't do this on purpose. Don't worry. You know how Neil sometimes talks about the multiverse theory? Parallel universes, in some of which dæmons aren't visible to the eye but exist inside people?”

”Yeah. I can't believe him and those people might be right.” Adam presses his palms against his face for a minute, and then looks at Sauli. ”I'm a little tempted to make you sleep right now, so I could make sure my Sauli comes back. But I'm not sure I have the heart to do that and rob you of your time with your dæmon, in case this is the only time you'll ever see her.”

The bird hops close to Sauli, nestling herself against him. To his astonishment he _feels_ her, and not just against his skin, but somehow inside.

”Sauli, this is Aina,” Adam says. ”She's your dæmon, your inner self.”

”And I was wrong,” the bird says. ”This _is_ still Sauli. I can feel it, even if he's not ours.”

”Yeah.” Adam looks at the bird. ”And I know I'll love him in every universe.”

Then Adam turns his eyes to Sauli. ”Except if you're evil in one of them. If you wake up with a giant evil mustache on your face, you should know I probably won't love you in that universe.”

He starts laughing, tears streaming from his eyes, laughing increasingly hysterically over his situation.

Adam laughs with him, and it feels good to hear that laugh. What a relief it is to be able to talk to Adam again

”So uh, did you say my inner self?”

So Adam explains, in what he suspects is a very condensed version. It sounds ludicrous, but not more so than jumping from one universe to another, and all the proof is right there before his eyes. After all, he can also feel something, like a faint link to the bird.

”I know what kind of a bird you are,” he says to Aina. ”But I don't know what it's called in English.”

”A barn swallow.”

”Right. Like my tattoos.”

Aina just ruffles her feathers against him. It feels comforting to have her close. He startles when the wolf jumps on the bed, even though he has sounded pretty non-threatening so far. It gets very cramped there all of a sudden. The wolf puts his head on Sauli's lap and looks at him with beautiful eyes, so he starts scratching.

Adam makes a sound. ”Unh. Feels good when you do that. That's Ramses, by the way.”

”You can feel it?”

It gives him a wonderful feeling, too, but Adam seems to be even more affected, biting his lip while nodding. So this is Adam's inner self, then? What a beauty.

”Have we—uh, you guys been together for long?” he asks.

”Two years now. I'm sorry, this is so strange,” Adam says and huffs. ”I can see no difference when I look at you. Except that you're looking unusually confused. He, my Sauli, he was my personal trainer at first.”

Huh. Well, he could see himself doing that.

”What about your Adam?” Adam asks.

”Uh, he's not my Adam. I mean, we hardly even know each other.”

”Well, how did you meet? What happened to you?” Adam asks and gets comfortable on the bed, sitting with his legs crossed.

”I don't know why I ended up here, if that's what you're asking. I didn't touch a magic lamp or anything. I met him in Lapland, he was on a trip with his friends. I nearly got him killed when I drove our snowmobile into thin ice. He was completely drenched in freezing water, so I dragged him into a cabin and made fire. We were warming up in front of the fire.”

”How were you warming up if he got completely drenched?” There's a glint in Adam's eyes.

”Um, you know. Obviously he had to remove the wet clothes. There were some blankets there. And you know, body heat. I guess we sort of... ended up having sex?”

Adam bursts into laughter, falling on his back and almost falling off the bed entirely, yelping. After collecting himself he tries to speak, but snorts and starts laughing again when he looks at Sauli, hiding his face in Ramses' fur, shoulders shaking.

”I knew it!” Adam finally says. ”That is so fucking funny. What a cliché. Cuddling and warming each other up. I bet the other me didn't mind nearly dying. I know myself. In every universe I would just go nuts for you and try to have you, get instantly hard for you.”

That makes the mood shift, Sauli swallowing and Adam looking away.

”Well, then.” Adam clears his throat. ”What should we do on our day together? It's a beautiful day. Do you want to go for a walk after breakfast?”

It is a beautiful day, and it's lovely to spend it with Adam, as well as the dæmons. They go for a walk on a trail which Adam explains is their favourite route, Aina riding on Sauli's shoulder most of the time.

”So if there's already a theory of multiple universes here, aren't you going to turn me in to some scientists who can use me for experiments?” he asks, kind of half-jokingly.

”Are you crazy?” Adam asks in a high voice. ”I _love_ you. I'm not giving you to anybody. Besides, I'm not sure anyone would believe you.”

Adam really is getting him mixed up with his own Sauli. Well, it _is_ the other Sauli's body he's occupying.

After the walk Adam remembers they're supposed to meet their friend and her two kids for lunch. Right away Adam is about to cancel, but Sauli assures him it will be alright. He likes kids, he can just play with them, and Aina can rescue him if any difficult questions come up.

They drive to the beach and have a picnic there. The kids are adorable, excellent at building sand castles, and he can hardly stop staring at their little dæmons who keep changing forms, diving into the sea as seagulls and jumping from it as dolphins.

They don't do anything special after the beach, just hang around the house and play music. They have some champagne, because why not. It's their only day together. In the evening Adam takes him out to dinner. It really feels like over the course of the day he's got to know Adam better. Not only from spending time with Adam, but from all the little comments Ramses keeps whispering to him.

”You don't have to spill all the beans, Ramses,” Adam says in a pleading voice.

”I'm just giving him an insider's view,” the dæmon says. ”He doesn't have a dæmon to tell him all these things about you.”

Aina and Ramses truly are pretty amazing. Aina feels so familiar to him, almost like she's always been there with him, and he's getting kind of obsessed with Ramses, admiring his beauty and presence. It's hard to keep his hands away from the soft fur when touching it causes such lovely sensations in his body, but he tries to keep the touches light. Especially after Adam looks at him pointedly and brushes lightly over Aina's feathers. It's so intense it makes him gasp. He gets the message. Best not to indulge too much so things don't get out of hand.

Towards the end of the day there's an increasingly heavy pressure in his chest. On one hand he wants to go to sleep to see if he can get back to his own universe, back to normal life where things make sense, but...

He watches as Adam moves about in the bedroom, getting ready to go to bed.

”I think I'm falling in love with you,” he says. It's insane, but he doesn't want to leave Adam.

Adam drops the shirt he was putting away.

”Oh, my love. Come here, baby.”

He gets up from the bed and steps into Adam's open arms.

”I'll be there. In your own universe. You don't even have to do anything, I promise the other me is already head over heels. I'll be there in each universe, loving you. Alright?”

He releases a shaky breath against the warm chest and nods, not wanting to give into tears, even though it's difficult when he feels Adam press a kiss into his curls. They stay like that for a long time.

”Let's just try to sleep now. I'll hold you.”

Adam puts some pillows between them, joking something about unwanted boners, before wrapping his arm around Sauli.

Aina nestles herself against his neck. ”I'll always be with you, too,” she whispers.

~ 4. ~

A bedside lamp is turned on when he wakes up, but it's clearly still night. It seems that he hasn't yet jumped anywhere, and Adam has given into lust in the middle of the night, pillows or not, and is currently occupying himself between Sauli's thighs.

Adam's mouth is latched onto his inner thigh. He moans. Adam is sucking a mark there very enthusiastically. No, he—

Sauli gets up on his elbows and looks. Adam's lips are pressed into his skin, eyes closed. He's swallowing, his throat moving. There are slurping sounds. He's drinking.

This cannot be happening. Terror and a strange excitement battle in him. Adam is sucking his blood like a vampire.

Automatically he tries to struggle free. It's no use, Adam pressing his legs down heavily. He doesn't quite understand why, but a strong wave of arousal comes over him, making him cry out. He's painfully hard and throbbing.

Before he can open his mouth to say something—although what on earth should he say—Adam goes still. Then he's slowly lifting his head. Even though for some reason Sauli can't feel any pain, the sight of two pointed fangs detaching from his thigh makes him shiver.

Those are actual vampire fangs, bloodied. With his blood.

Adam looks up at him, eyes glassy at first but slowly swimming into focus.

”Sauli...?”

”Not your Sauli,” he gasps out. ”Someone else.”

Maybe he shouldn't have said it like that.

Adam is on him in a second, faster than humanly possible, pinning him to the bed. One hand around Sauli's throat, although not squeezing.

”Who are you and what have you done with my mate?”

There's no mistaking the threat in Adam's voice. He sounds honestly dangerous. Sauli can't stop looking at the sharp teeth.

”I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it. I'm still Sauli, just from a different universe. I'm jumping between them, and I can't seem to stop. I'll be gone if I just fall asleep again.”

Adam stares at him with narrowed eyes, blood at the corner of his mouth.

He can't help himself.

”You actually are a vampire, holy shit.”

”You've either lost your mind or you're telling the truth, and I think I believe you.” Adam loosens his hold and only strokes the skin of Sauli's neck with his fingertips. ”It's the beast. He noticed something changing when I was drinking. Wait—you do know who I am, right?”

”Of course I know, you dork. I can't seem to get rid of you, actually.”

Adam looks amused. ”Is that so? Would you want to?”

The sudden noise of a phone alarm scares the hell out of him and makes Adam jump, too. A hard, cloth-covered cock presses against his and he lets out a strangled sound.

”Fuck,” Adam says rolling away from him and silencing the phone. ”I can't do this, I've already fucked up once. I don't know what my Sauli would say about sex with another version of himself. Just—wait here, I'll need to bandage you.” Adam gets up and disappears into a bathroom.

It's hard to choose which universe is crazier, this or the previous one. Unconsciously his fingers find small scars on both sides of his neck. Wow.

When Adam comes back he starts bandaging Sauli's thigh in a brisk but tender manner. Those fingers moving so close to his groin are not helping to make his hard-on go away. Quite the opposite.

”Can you make me fall asleep? Do you have like, mental powers? Please, I just can't deal with a vampire universe right now.”

”What? No. You really are from another universe. I'll get you one of your sleeping pills.”

He looks at Adam blankly.

”You still have them from the time you were trying to adjust to my rhythm. I mean, the other you was. Never mind.”

After a kiss placed on top of the bandage, Adam gets up.

”Oh, maybe you should first uh... You know.” Adam makes a quick motion with his hand.

Yeah, that's true. He won't be able to fall asleep like this, still aroused despite his confused mental state. He looks at Adam. Shirtless, hairy chest. Black sweatpants riding low, and with the way Adam is standing turned slightly sideways, the outline of a massive bulge visible.

”Adam. Could you...” He puts his hand on his own hip and makes a motion as if grasping something and pushing it down.

Adam's mouth drops open. He's clearly deliberating, but then leans back against the bedroom door and slowly pushes the waistband of the sweatpants down his hips to mid-thigh.

Oh, fuck. Sauli grips his own cock and squeezes it, jerking it fast, looking.

At first Adam is just standing there, widening his stance a bit and breathing heavily. But then he turns around slowly, lifting his arms up and leaning against the door, arching his back.

He looks at the curves, squeezing the head of his cock.

Adam starts moving his hips in a languid rhythm. When he turns around again, still moving his hips slightly in rolling thrusts, Sauli comes explosively, shuddering, hips flying off the bed.

It makes his eyes close, and when opens them again, Adam has gone.

That leaves him time to clean himself up with some tissues he finds, and to drink from a bottle of water.

When Adam comes back, looking fairly calm and collected, there's no doubt in Sauli's mind what he's been doing.

He takes the offered sleeping pill.

”Could you sing for me?”

He falls asleep to a vampire singing to him. Not a lullaby exactly, but a song that talks about stars and dreaming.

~ 5. ~

He wakes up to Adam between his thighs. How does this keep happening? This Adam is probably a human, though, as he's sucking Sauli's cock instead of his blood.

Never mind that in another universe he's totally spent, in this body it feels like he wants it right now, all of it.

Adam pulls his mouth off with a pop and smiles at him, licking his lips.

”Do you want me inside? Or something else?”

”I...” He thought he wanted it. But now that Adam is asking... He just can't.

”Next time,” he says. ”Not right now. Just, come here and touch me. I'll explain later.”

”Sweetheart, you don't have to,” Adam says and places a wet kiss on his hip bone. ”Don't be silly. We've talked about this. I don't expect you to be ready to take me in all the time. _You_ say when you want me. And you sound strange, are you alright?”

”Later,” he says and grabs Adam's bicep, pulling.

Thankfully Adam crawls up to him and finally, finally soft lips are pressed against his. He's missed this.

He wraps one arm around Adam's back and with his other hand strokes both of them, taking his time, slow and sensuous. This Adam's beard is a bit shorter, just a stubble rasping against his cheek when Adam moves to whisper sweet things into his ear. Adam sounds a bit weird himself, though, but nice.

In the end it's hard to keep pleasuring both of them, so he closes his fist tight around Adam's swollen length, made slick by them both, and Adam does the same with his. They're drawing their fists up and down while kissing, both shuddering messes before bursting, moaning loudly.

In the blissful aftermath he lifts his head and takes a look around the room. So, this is probably not just an old house, but actually a house during another century. Nothing modern in sight. He lets his head drop back onto a pillow.

”I'm so sorry about this, but I have to confess something. I'm not actually the Sauli you think I am.”

This Adam seems to take everything Sauli tells him with relative calm, possibly because at first he's clearly too blissed-out to listen carefully. Sauli gets distracted himself a couple of times, his gaze travelling over Adam's body and spotting a few faint scars, which make him uncomfortable.

Adam doesn't look like he entirely believes Sauli. It's hard to blame him. Alternate universes may not have been talked about very much in whatever year they're in. As long as Adam doesn't think he's the devil, it's fine.

”You're definitely speaking in a strange accent,” Adam says and scratches his stubble. ”If what you're saying is true, I'm trying to figure out whether I've cheated on my husband or not.”

”We're married?!” Married. To Adam.

”Yes, of course. Well, it's a long story.”

History wasn't Sauli's best subject at school, but he's pretty sure he would remember if men were allowed to marry other men in the old times. This really is a different sort of universe.

Adam seems to start believing him more when it becomes clear that Sauli has no idea how to dress himself. He ends up standing there, letting Adam dress him in really funny clothing. It's especially funny when Adam ties a long white cravat on his neck in a complicated manner, but when he looks at himself in the mirror, he has to admit it all looks pretty nice, particularly the contrast between a deep blue coat and a pure white cravat.

”I think we should take the day for ourselves and avoid company,” Adam says. ”Otherwise everyone starts declaring you insane.”

”Yes, please. I don't want to try to pass as some kind of an English gentleman.”

It makes Adam laugh.

”We could ride off to the lake and have a swim,” Adam says, but he must see Sauli's hesitation. ”You know how to swim, right?”

He nods.

”You don't know how to ride a horse,” Adam says.

”Well, you see, in my universe the year is 2017, and people don't ride horses to go to places anymore. Riding is just a hobby for some people. I've done it only once.”

Adam looks like he's about to faint.

”We'll just take the carriage. But first, breakfast.”

They go downstairs. It really is a huge manor they're living in.

”Is it just the two of us living here?” he whispers to Adam.

Adam seems to get a bit flustered. ”Yes, for now. Well, there are the servants, of course.”

One of those servants is standing in the room they enter. Once seated at the table, Sauli takes one glance at what's on it, and throws a helpless look at Adam.

”Thank you, Simon,” Adam says. ”We'll ring the bell.” The servant bows and leaves them.

Adam grins and shakes his head.

”What am I going to do with you? Do people not eat breakfast in the future?”

”They do, but not with this many plates and forks and knives. Egypt was so much easier. I ate with my hands. You were feeding me, too, you know.”

Adam stares. ”I was?”

”Yes,” he says and smiles slowly. ”I liked it.”

”You did?” Gears seem to be turning in Adam's head.

”I hope I'm giving you some ideas.

He gets through the breakfast with Adam's aid, and they take their leave straight after. It's a nice day, sunny and warm. They ride a carriage through an English countryside. He's never been in such an environment, and he marvels at the rolling hills and small forests.

After swimming in a small lake to their heart's content they lounge around in the sun only half-dressed, not worrying about anyone interrupting them since Adam informs him the lake is situated on their own land. They're lying next to each other, and Sauli moves closer until he can use Adam's shoulder as a pillow.

”What do these tattoos mean?” He places his hand next to Adam's. ”The first Adam and Sauli had them, too.”

”Excuse me?”

He repeats it. This seems to send Adam's mind reeling. More so than hearing he's the Pharaoh in one universe, or that in another there exists a manifestation of his soul in the form of a talking animal.

Adam explains that it's something of an inside joke between them, a word that can be applied to many situations, and being something that only they know, it also signifies the promise they had made to love each other before, in Adam's words, it had all been bollocksed up for some time.

He wonders what the story is in another universes.

”Do you think I should tell my husband about you?” Adam asks after a while, stroking Sauli's wrist with his thumb.

”I don't know. Knowing myself I'm pretty jealous, but if you want to tell him, you can blame it all on me. It was my fault for not telling you. I didn't want you to stop, I was too caught up in it. I'm kind of falling in love with you in all these different universes, and the situation was... pretty erotic in the one I was coming from before ending up here.”

”I'll think about it,” Adam says after a while. ”It would be difficult to make him believe any of this. But if he does, I'm hopeful he'll understand. He's just another version of you, right, or vice versa? So he'll have to think what he would do himself in the same situation. And we've endured worse misunderstandings.”

”It sounds like you two are a pretty tight unit,” he says and entwines his fingers with Adam's.

Adam falls silent after that. The sunlight is making Sauli drowsy, the sounds of birds and nearby buzzing of bees, too.

He's almost falling asleep, but becomes aware of Adam talking.

”You should hold onto your Adam in the place where you come from. We wasted away some years, me and my husband. I'm grateful for him now, grateful for the second chance. But you should treasure every moment you have with your Adam. Don't let any insignificant things come between you two.”

”I don't really even know him yet,” he says with his eyes closed.

”You say you've already spent days with other versions of me. You know him.”

~ 6. ~

He wakes up in his own apartment and for a second thinks everything is back to normal, but then he remembers. This is his studio apartment in Helsinki, the one he was living in before moving to Lapland for the job. Clearly he's still not in his own universe. Wonderful. If there are infinite universes, he could just jump between them endlessly, never getting back to his original one, couldn't he?

It's still dark outside. He picks up his phone and scrolls through some of the newest messages. None from Adam. He wonders if they know each other.

He opens up Wikipedia and puts in Adam's name. As soon as he sees the dates 1982–2012, he puts his phone away.

He gets up, wraps himself in a bathrobe, and makes coffee. Then he spends the morning writing a long letter to himself. Writing by hand makes his hand tired, so he takes breaks and stretches his fingers. He doesn't know if the Sauli in this universe ever had a chance to meet Adam, so he takes both options into consideration.

As soon as he's done he gets dressed and goes out to the liquor store. Not wanting to run out, he buys plenty. Back at the apartment he drinks until he passes out, and gets the hell away from this universe.

~ 7. ~

In the next one he wakes up alone again, but in a different bed. Naturally not feeling even a bit hungover, he sends a compassionate thought to the Sauli whose body he's just left behind, possibly with the worst hangover of his life.

He gets up and inspects the room, then the whole apartment. It seems that he has a female roommate, but she's nowhere to be seen.

He checks his phone. To his relief he finds Adam's name. They have a Whatsapp conversation going on, and the most recent message is from Adam saying he has to run off now, signed with x's. When he scrolls up a bit he finds a picture of Adam looking into the camera, obviously lying on a bed in a white bathrobe that reveals his chest down to his navel before the picture cuts off.

He googles Adam. It looks like he's on tour with Queen. He googles himself, and finds pictures of himself and Adam. Ah. So they met pretty young, dated for a couple of years, but separated a long time ago. Obviously they're still friends, though, or something of that sort.

And that is perfectly fine. It's good. They must have separated for a reason, but judging by the messages they definitely keep in touch, and it's good to know they care about each other in their own way. It's just that right now he feels so terribly alone.

Before thinking about it too deeply he makes a call. While listening to the ringing tone he looks at the tattoo on his hand. Finally Adam picks up.

”Sauli? Is everything okay?” His voice is raspy. Probably just woken up.

”Hi. Yeah, I guess. Where are you now?”

Adam is quiet for a while. Sauli should probably know where he is.

”At the hotel. In London.”

So he's definitely woken Adam up, since London is two hours behind Helsinki, and Adam seems to be a late riser anyway.

”Can I come see you?”

There's an even longer silence.

”Of course you can. Book a flight. I'll pay for it if there are only stupidly expensive ones left.”

”No, I'm sure I can afford it. I'll let you know when I arrive.”

He gets on it, feeling better already, going through the motions of buying a flight for midday, and packing a few things that he thinks he might need, or at least the other Sauli might, more or less unexpectedly waking up in London tomorrow.

The travelling seems to take forever, but once he's finally in London, Adam texts him he should come by the hotel at first, although they would need to take off pretty much right away to the arena.

Right. He feels stupid for not realising Adam has a concert that evening. But that's okay.

Adam is standing around in front of the hotel when his cab pulls in front of it. There's a guy nearby who can only be a security man. Even though it's been drizzling on and off, Adam is wearing sunglasses.

”Hey, you,” Adam says and pulls him into a hug.

His cheek is pressed against a black wool coat, slightly damp from rain.

”You're going to be just changing cars, I'm afraid,” Adam says. ”The others are coming with us. Sorry. I can't very well just say they should take another one...”

”Adam, it's fine.”

”Are you alright?” Adam asks, squeezing his shoulders.

”Uh-huh.”

”Are you sure? If you're—if you're not well, you should tell me right now.”

”I'm fine,” he says, and then he understands what Adam is asking, unable to even say the word. ”I'm not sick or anything.”

Adam breathes out.

”We'll talk later, okay?”

”Yeah,” he says and releases Adam. A few other people come out, a fairly young man and a woman, carrying bags. They all get into a car, the bodyguard, too.

He's sitting next to Adam, listening to the conversation around him absentmindedly. He's just happy to share the same space with Adam as much as he can, even if he thinks this universe is kind of a letdown.

At the arena he gets a backstage pass. Queen band members come in, looking a bit surprised but greeting him warmly. He follows their example and greets them as if he knows them.

He hangs around through the soundcheck, dinner, and Adam getting ready. During it all he's actually in a pretty good mood, joking around with Adam.

Close to show time Adam takes him aside.

”Are you going to tell what's on your mind later?”

”Maybe,” he says and smiles. ”Hey. I don't know what I'm going to think and say tomorrow morning, but I just want to say that I came here because I missed you, and because I just wanted to be with you. You're worth every effort.”

Adam looks at him thoughtfully and leans close, pressing a soft lingering kiss on his lips.

He sees the concert, feeling like his world is shifting again from witnessing the force that is Adam on stage, having difficulties in combining in his mind the person he's recently spent time with in various circumstances, and this being whose voice is out of this world, _any_ world.

Afterwards they're in a cab, this time just the two of them, lights of London going by and rain splattering against windows. He's pressed close to Adam, and while resting his head on Adam's shoulder, he falls asleep.

~ 0. ~

Before he even opens his eyes he hears the crackle of fire and feels warmth on his face.

”Did you have any nice dreams? You fell asleep for a moment there.”

A wide smile stretches across his face.

”Something like that,” he says and opens his eyes, turning to face Adam. ”Remind me to tell you about them sometime.”

They look at each other, neither one looking away. It feels like they're having an entire conversation with their eyes.

Those are essentially the same eyes he's been looking into for the past few days that he's spent away, traipsing across universes, miraculously no time having passed here.

Still, screw what he said before to the Adam with the wolf. This _is_ his Adam. His very own.

He can't help but feel some sadness, because this Adam can't possibly love him yet. Not like he's already started to love Adam. Every Adam. But he should trust what he's been told.

”I think you should take me home with you,” Sauli says.

Adam's eyebrows rise, his eyes wide open.

”Can I? Are you sure?”

”I'm pretty sure, yeah. I know you have no reason to trust me since I almost killed you, but you should still trust me on this.”

It's probable that Adam thinks Sauli is suggesting coming to LA for a visit. Well, the man is in for a surprise. He has no intention of leaving Adam now.

Adam is grinning hard but manages to purse his lips enough to give him a small kiss.

”I trust you. You saved me, remember? Fished me out of a pond and warmed my freezing ass.” Another, longer kiss. ”Quite the hero,” Adam whispers.

It's ridiculous, but he also can't prevent his cheeks from burning a little.

”Does that make you the damsel in distress?” he asks.

”Fuck _yeah!_ That's exactly it,” Adam says in a high voice and giggles.

”I see you've managed to add some wood all by yourself, though,” Sauli says and glances at the stove, which is burning with a loud hum again.

”Listen, I'm a damsel, but that doesn't make me useless.”

They grin at each other stupidly for a while.

”I don't even celebrate Christmas,” Adam says, ”But I think this is the nicest present I've ever got. You.”

”Merry Christmas anyway. I guess I'm pretty glad that you forgot your backpack.”

Adam is being so sweet, and Sauli wants to punch himself because it feels like he's incapable of doing the same, instead staying in the safe area of sarcasm and jokes. It's as if he's so overwhelmed with everything that he's feeling that he can't find the middle-ground, only keep joking or feel like he's about to confess his love right then and there.

”Me too. I didn't plan it, but trust me, I had already come up with three other options how to throw myself at you again before I realised I'd lost it.”

”Oh? I'm not sure I want to hear the other options,” he says and tries to keep a straight face. ”I'm scared that forgetting your backpack and almost drowning was actually the smoothest way for you to hit on me.

”And that worked out really well. I seduced you with my goose bumps and lips gone blue from cold, didn't I?”

”If that's the version you want to tell, sure. I have some other versions for you, too.”

He wraps his arms around Adam tightly under the blankets, face against Adams neck, and hugs so hard that Adam might be a little taken aback, but arms wrap around him in return.

One day he'll tell Adam all about the other universes. At first he wants so make sure he actually manages to stay in his own from now on, but he has a feeling that he will.

Still, perhaps it's best to stay awake until they're able to leave this cabin and the northern lights dancing wildly above it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is inspired by a series of Sherlock Holmes fics that I loved years ago, universe-hopping Watches 'Verse by bendingsignpost and especially its continuation No Fixed Point, in which the universes of the author's other AU fics are visited. So thank you for the idea. Also inspired by talking about revisiting my fics and realizing how fun it would be to do so literally. (#6 is obviously not based on any of my fics, but let's just not talk about #6 ever again.)


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